


Hurry Up (To Slow Down)

by kitkatt0430



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alcohol, Barry and Eddie get together first, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Grief, Happy Ending, Internalized Biphobia, Iris is the flash, Joe doesn't take his daughter being in a coma well, Joe has much groveling to do, M/M, Multi, Pilot episode rewrite, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, background Eobard Thawne being creepy, well the negotiations are starting by the end anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25568263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatt0430/pseuds/kitkatt0430
Summary: It's not Barry in his lab when the lightning strikes.  It's Iris.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Eddie Thawne, Barry Allen/Eddie Thawne/Iris West, Barry Allen/Iris West, Eddie Thawne/Iris West
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	Hurry Up (To Slow Down)

"Who is that guy and what is he so proud of," Iris huffed, rolling her eyes as she turned to look at Barry. "So he caught a mugger. Whoop-de-do. I've done that and I'm not even a cop."

Barry snorted in amusement. "That's Eddie Thawne, the transfer from Keystone. You know, the one Joe's been complaining about."

"Ah, Detective Pretty Boy indeed." Iris glanced back and smirked a little. "Very pretty. Does he really keep score when it comes to arrests?"

"No. Joe took something Eddie said way out of context," Barry responded, plucking distractedly at his sleeves. A sure tell that Barry was upset over something.

"I'm sorry we missed the rest of Doctor's Wells speech," Iris told him softly. "If I'd been paying better attention to my stuff..."

"It's not your fault, Iris," Barry assured her. "It's the mugger's. And I think we heard the most relevant parts, anyway. You should have enough for your class anyway. Last paper of the semester totally in the bag, how does it feel?"

"Like next semester is my final semester and I'm definitely feeling burned out. This whole Masters degree had better be worth it." Iris smiled, though. "I'm actually really enjoying the journalism class, though. Thinking about maybe starting up a news blog."

"You'll have at least one reader," Barry promised. Then he looked away from her and wrinkled his nose, just a little. "Captain is waving me over for something. I probably forgot some paperwork again."

"How about I wait for you in your lab and then we catch a late dinner?" Iris waited for Barry to nod in agreement before heading upstairs.

It's the last thing she remembers for nine months.

* * *

Nothing feels real.

Not the ambulance ride to the hospital.

("I'm her foster brother. Her family. I should be with her until her dad can be there.")

Not the time in the waiting room afterwards.

("Joe! Over here."

"How is she?"

"They won't... they won't tell me. She had a seizure on the way here, though.")

Not sitting in his apartment the day afterwards, sent home to get sleep...

How can Barry sleep when Iris is...

Nothing feels real.

He goes back to the hospital and sits with her hand in his.

("It should have been me," Barry says, when Joe leaves the room for a few minutes. "It was my lab. It should have been me. Not you. Never you...")

He can barely stand to go back to Joe's house (Iris' empty bedroom) but he has to do it anyway. (The empty chair at the dinner table.) Because Joe can't be alone in this.

* * *

The first time Barry walks into his lab after Iris is struck by lightning, he sits down at his chair and starts crying.

There's nothing to clean up. Other people have done that for him. Other CSIs have salvaged any evidence that might've been damaged, replaced the chemicals he uses for analysis, and the storage racks and evidence boards back in their respective places. Even the board that hides Barry's investigations into the potentially supernatural is pristine.

It doesn't look like the site of a tragedy in there. But it is.

"Uh, hi."

Barry wipes at his face and looks up. "Detective Thawne. I'm sorry... I... can I help you?" He hasn't quite gotten back into the flow of things yet, so Barry's not sure which of his cases are still his and which got permanently passed off while he had two weeks of leave. Most of his cases should've been completely reassigned, so...

"I thought today might be hard for you so I..." Eddie, held out a cup of coffee from some new cafe that had gone in down the street. Jitters something or other. "I asked around and everyone says you like chocolate and flavored coffee, so it's... I hope I made a good choice off their menu. It was a little intimidating, actually. Like Starbucks but more hipster. Not in a bad way, though."

Barry laughed a little. Couldn't help it. Eddie was sweet. And so was the coffee that Barry sampled. "It's perfect. Thank you, Detective."

"Please. Call me Eddie."

"Eddie," Barry echoes, smiling as something in his chest loosens.

* * *

Eddie brings Barry coffee again the next morning. And the one after that. So it's really only polite that Barry treats Eddie to lunch.

Barry can't help but feel guilty as his gaze lingers on Eddie's very pretty smile.

He shouldn't get to feel this way while Iris is...

But the thing is, Iris wouldn't want Barry to put his life on hold for her. So he feels guilty, but he doesn't stop.

* * *

Barry downs the last of his second beer and stares into it with maudlin expression.

"I'm prying aren't I? Sorry..." Eddie catches Barry's attention, making Barry realizes the other man had taken Barry's distraction for something else.

"No, no, it's fine. I'm kind of a lightweight," Barry admitted, putting the beer bottle down on Eddie's coffee table. "Always have been a cheap date. What was the question again?"

"Just, you know... wondering what high school was like for you." Eddie sounded uncertain, but he'd also just shared stories about his own school days. Being a politician's son and bullied all the time.

Highly relatable stuff, to be honest.

"When I was a kid, my mom was murdered. My dad went to jail for it, but he didn't kill her." Barry emphasizes that last part and Eddie just nods. Leaves it alone. "Joe took me in afterwards and, as you're well aware, kids are shitty. So I was bullied a lot too. Iris... Iris was good at making the bullies back off though. My hero." Barry tries to make the last two words a joke, but there must've been something in his voice.

"Were the two of you..." Eddie trails off. "Never mind."

"She didn't see me that way," Barry replied. "I think I've been in love with her since we were little kids and had our first play date, but... she never saw me that way."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. Wouldn't trade the friendship I've had with her all these years. Not for anything." Except maybe for her to wake up, though Barry doesn't say that out loud. He'd give it all up in a heartbeat, though. Let himself be completely cut out of her life if it meant Iris would wake up. She could never look at him again, but if she'd smile at Joe again it'd be enough.

Eddie nibbles on his lower lip distractedly - distractingly - and then offers Barry the couch for the night.

* * *

STAR Labs is kind of weird.

Before the accident, Barry would have loved to have an excuse to visit the lab. Now there's a part of him that distinctly wishes he'd never heard of the place. Iris lays there, hooked up to too many machines that beep and not a single one that will give them answers to when she'll come home. Joe can barely stand to see her like this; Barry can't bear to go more than a few days without seeing her.

But it's not just the existence of STAR Labs that makes Barry feel so uncomfortable, it's... it's Dr. Wells.

Cisco is kind and chirpy and means well. He'll play Iris' favorite music because wouldn't that be nice for her to wake up to? And he finds out Barry's favorite card games so that when Barry visits and runs out of steam halfway through telling Iris what he and Joe have been up to this week, there's something for him to do other than cry again.

Caitlin is a kindred spirit, though the person she's grieving is dead. She tells Barry she hopes he gets to have Iris wake up one day. She wouldn't wish the funeral of a loved one on anyone.

But Dr. Wells... he stares at Barry sometimes. Like he's some kind of enigma. Or a bug on a windshield. Dr. Wells is... unsettling at best. Barry tries to avoid him. Especially when Eddie comes with him, acting as Barry's ride or just there to offer moral support. Those are the times when Dr. Wells scrutiny is the worst.

Barry worries his crush on Eddie is just that obvious. He's a little afraid that the guy who used to be his science hero might actually be a little homophobic or something.

* * *

Joe has been drinking more lately and it worries Barry enough that he moves back home. And Joe makes an effort to drink less at first.

It doesn't last.

He's drunk every night the week of Barry's birthday. He doesn't even remember it is Barry's birthday, so Barry just.. leaves. Walks out the door and calls Eddie. They get dinner together and go back to Eddie's place together and...

Barry's never really sure later who initiated what. They each gave each other opportunities to back off, to say no... but neither of them wanted to say no. Their first kiss is on Eddie's couch, Barry's fingers grasping Eddie's shirt tightly and Eddie's hands gently cupping Barry's face.

Barry stays the night in Eddie's bed.

* * *

Barry doesn't let Joe get away with being drunk for long. He pours out all the beer while Joe isn't at the house and when Joe gets upset over the missing alcohol, Barry pointedly asks what Iris would think of her father turning into an alcoholic.

It's probably the worst fight the two of them have ever had.

They both throw Iris' name in each other's face and their words get ugly. Mean.

Joe accuses Barry of using Eddie to forget about Iris - but what happens when she wakes up, Bar? You love her, so what happens to him?

Barry's never felt this close to hitting Joe before. Never.

He goes back to Eddie's that night and, tentatively, asks about maybe staying on the couch until he can find a new apartment.

Eddie's promise of 'whatever you need, Barry' makes him feel guilty. Because Barry does still love Iris. He's always going to love Iris. But he thinks he could love Eddie too.

Joe had a point. What happens when Iris wakes up? It's probably a moot point, though. She'd never loved Barry quite the same way he loved her. And Eddie was clearly falling as hard for Barry as Barry was for him.

It was no contest, really. But Barry felt guilty anyway.

* * *

Joe stops drinking. He apologizes to Barry, but Barry gets a new apartment anyway. There's too much...

They both said things that can't be taken back and things aren't automatically better because apologies are made.

It takes time for trust to rebuild and eventually Barry starts having dinners with Joe on Saturday nights again. He brings Eddie, his boyfriend. Joe's still not happy they're dating, but he's cordial enough.

There's a relapse around Iris' birthday. The whole month of June is hard, but the twenty-fourth is especially painful, Barry clutching her hand in STAR Labs and singing Happy Birthday to her while Eddie's hand sits warm and supportive on his shoulder. He goes to see Joe afterwards and finds him crying, drunk in the living room, photo albums scattered on the floor.

"My baby girl," Joe cries and Barry just holds him and wishes he knew what to say to make it all better.

What were the magic words that would bring Iris home to them?

* * *

_Can't read my, can't read my  
No, he can't read my poker face  
(She's got me like nobody)_

"Can't you turn that down?"

_Can't read my, can't read my  
No, he can't read my poker face  
(She's got me like nobody)_

"Oh, come on, Caitlin. Barry said she likes this song. They used to sing it together all the time for Bi/Pan solidarity reasons."

Iris frowned and wrinkled her nose. Were there people in her bedroom? Why was alarm clock so loud?

"Look, just turn it down and help me finish the inventory so we can move her back out of the cortex, okay?"

"Alright, alright."

The sound of Poker Face grew quieter and Iris blinked her eyes open, staring blearily at the ceiling. Not her bedroom ceiling, though. Where was she?

"Holy smokes, she spoke!"

Oh, she did ask that last part out loud, hadn't she?

Carefully, Iris sat up. Found herself looking at a Hispanic man with gorgeous long hair and a pretty brunette. "Where am I?" she repeated.

"You're at STAR Labs," said the woman. "You've been in a coma. How do you feel?"

"Confused."

"That should pass. Cisco," the brunette said, tone commanding. "Call her father and Barry, then go let Dr. Wells know she's awake."

"Got it, Caitlin," the man - Cisco - said, saluting and then racing out of the room.

"I'm Dr. Caitlin Snow. I've been looking after you while you... you've been in the coma. I'm going to ask you a few question and it's okay if you don't know the answers," Caitlin said. "Also I'm going to shine a light in your eyes to check pupil reflex, okay?"

"O-okay." Iris submits to the scrutiny and answers the question that Dr. Snow asks of her. She identifies herself as Iris West and then rattles off her home address, her phone number, what semester she was finishing up in college, what her degree would be, her father's name, the president's name, and what the last thing she remembered from before the coma was.

All the while Caitlin busies herself removing all the wires and other things from Iris' body. It's a little terrifying, actually, and Iris tries not to think about any of it. She just... answers questions.

Until Cisco comes back, however. He pokes his head in and tells them that her dad and Barry are on the way over. And then Iris has to know. "How long was I in a coma?"

"Nine months."

She starts to cry.

* * *

Everything feels wrong.

It's warm instead of cold outside. The days are longer. There's a weight on her father's shoulders that wasn't there before her coma. A shadow in Barry's eyes she doesn't recognize.

It's going to take time.

* * *

Iris goes back to school to talk to her counselor, her dad at her side. She's given the entire semester to finish her final paper for her one unfinished class from the year before. And then she'll start her final semester in the winter when classes start anew.

It's a relief, really, to be given so much leeway. Because Iris knows she's going to need that time, to put back together all the pieces of who she is.

She goes back home and doesn't leave the house for a week.

Barry drags her out and reintroduces her to Eddie at the park. Detective Pretty Boy, oh she remembers him. She hadn't been quite ready to admit it nine months ago, but she had a bit of a crush on him when he'd rescued her laptop from the mugger.

He's dating Barry, though, and something in Iris swirls with jealousy. What surprises, her, though, is that she's not sure which one she's jealous of. Barry... or Eddie.

She feels like she has too much nervous energy all of a sudden. Iris needs to be able to think but she feels like she's about to vibrate out of her skin.

Barry was always attractive and just... there. How did never notice how she felt about him before this? The possessive little voice in the back of her head calling him her Barry. Hers.

And he looks so happy with Eddie. She wants them to be happy. She wants them to be happy together, even. But she wants them to want her too and it's too much.

Iris makes her excuses and runs home. And then she runs to STAR Labs because... she's suddenly running with lightning licking her heels.

* * *

Eddie isn't sure how he feels about Iris waking up. He barely met her before the lightning strike that changed all their lives and she'd been this presence hanging over his relationship with Barry, in a way.

Not that Eddie thinks Barry's going to just drop him and run to Iris, but there's definitely a fear in the back of Eddie's head that this is it. The beginning of the end.

In other words, Iris makes him nervous.

But he also remembers her making him a different sort of nervous. Butterflies in the stomach and 'can't stop thinking she's gorgeous' sort of nervous.

Barry's been in love with her forever, practically. He's been open about that from the start, when they were still figuring themselves out as friends. It's refreshing, honestly. And Barry's emphatic over the phone the night Iris wakes up, saying "I love you, Eddie." Words that are still so new to them both.

"I love you too, Barry."

And when he gets reintroduced to her, Eddie finds himself feeling like he wants to make a good impression. Wants her to like him the way Barry likes him. Eddie's so confused and a little worried. He knows the selfish-bi stereotype is bi-phobia wrapped in anti-polyamory prejudices, but he feels like he's being a bad bi anyway.

Loving Barry and wanting Iris... he doesn't know how to talk to Barry about any of this. But he needs to. They need to.

* * *

It goes something like this.

Barry is nearly sideswiped by their escaping bank robber, but identifies him as Clyde Mardon. Joe calls him crazy, insults Barry's father, and generally makes an ass of himself. Iris chimes in that Joe is being an asshole and she saw Mardon too. Joe insists Iris needs to stop enabling Barry and make him grow up. Eddie manages not to punch Joe and instead basically shoves at him the sketch that's eye-witness approved by, like, six or seven different people from two crime scenes and says, "so we're looking for Clyde Mardon" just to see Joe's eye twitch.

Suffice it to say that the three of them - Barry, Iris, and Eddie - are united in their desire to give Joe a really hard time until he's apologized to Barry and Iris every day for at least a month.

"Do you think Mardon is really causing literal storms indoors?" Eddie asks once Joe's out of earshot. "Because while that'd be awesome in theory if he weren't a criminal, but he is a bank robber and I'd rather he have stolen tech that triggers the fire suppression system."

"Powers," Barry said, sounding resigned.

"Definitely powers," Iris agreed, voice weird.

"Well shit. Powers it is, then," Eddie sighed. "Think we can find someone also with powers who's on our side in time to stop him from creating a storm system capable of wiping out the city?"

"Uh..." Iris swallowed nervously. Looked between Barry and Eddie as if deciding something and then nodded sharply. "About that."

* * *

She's fast. So amazingly, incomprehensibly fast.

"That's hot," Barry breathes out, voice awed and probably not intending to have voiced that thought.

"She really is," Eddie can't help but agree.

The look Barry gives him is speculative.

* * *

Iris unravels a tornado. She's still running a little high off of that success.

Her dad is unconscious, as is Clyde Mardon. So there's no one there to see when she pulls the cowl off her face and kisses first Barry, then Eddie, square on the mouth, twirling around with a joyous rush because there's just nothing like the feeling she got from her powers.

She probably shouldn't have done that, given the stunned looks their giving her. Boundaries she just waltzed all over.

"Sorry. Got too excited, there," she mutters, pulling the cowl back on and retreating a little into the false anonymity it afforded her.

"We need to talk. All three of us," Barry said, catching her hand. "And I'm not mad you kissed us. It was really nice."

She could unravel another tornado right now, Iris is sure of it. "I should go back to STAR Labs before someone sees me here who shouldn't. Besides, Cisco is working on coming up with some kind of containment system for meta criminals. He could probably use a test subject to make sure it works."

"We'll call you once we're free," Eddie promised. "And then Barry's right, we need to talk."

Her dad finally starts to stir and Iris takes that as her cue to run.

* * *

They wind up back at Barry's apartment. But Barry hesitates to text Iris.

"I just want to make sure we're on the same page first," Barry says. "I'm in love with you and with Iris. You're in love with me but very attracted to Iris. Iris kissed both of us."

"Joe is absolutely going to shoot me, but that is a great summation," Eddie agreed. "I'd like to think all three of us are at least thinking about the possibility of all of us dating. One relationship, three partners sort of dating. And I'm starting to ramble already, so please..."

Barry's mouth on Eddie's is a taste he'll never tire of.

They text Iris.

"I don't want to ruin things for you two," is the first thing out of Iris' mouth when she appears like lightning in Barry's living room.

"You're not going to ruin things for us," Eddie insists. "So maybe it's all going to be very complicated, but... I think we can make this work for us."

Iris' confusion is palpable. So Barry gives his little summary of where they all stand again.

"You... you've been in love with me for years?" Iris squeaks.

"Pretty much always," Barry admits, ducking his head in a way that's really adorable.

Eddie wonders if he should feel jealous right now. Most people would probably say yes. But the way Barry and Iris are gazing at each other... Eddie wants them to kiss, if he's being honest.

"And you're okay with this?" Iris asked, turning to Eddie.

"I'd be okay with it if the two of you were interested in dating and we," he gestured between himself and Iris, "were metamours." Eddie paused a beat. "I think that's the term, anyway? I've been googling stuff on my phone on the sly all night since we got back to the station. But what I'd really like is if we were all dating each other. Because I really, really, like you too Iris. And I'm hoping that you kissing both of us means that, well..."

"I like both of you," Iris offered, a touch shyly. "I do. And I'd like that... for all of us to date together."

When she kisses them both again, it's not a surprise. It's with full knowledge and consent and Eddie can't decide what's better: kissing Iris or watching Iris kiss Barry.


End file.
